LONDON — Kenya’s Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir pulled away late to win the women’s London marathon on Sunday and cement her status as favorite to defend her gold medal in Paris.
Jepchirchir had by far the best result as she easily left behind world record holder Tigst Assefa and two other rivals to sprint alone down the final stretch in front of Buckingham Palace.
She finished in 2 hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds, with Assefa in second and Joyciline Jepkosgei in third.
That’s more than 4 minutes slower than Assefa’s world record set in Berlin last year, but it’s the fastest time ever in a women’s-only marathon, breaking the mark by 2:17 :01 established by Mary Keitany in London in 2017.
The elite women’s peloton in London starts about 30 minutes before the elite men.
New York Post
